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UNIVERSAL  HIGH-SCHOOL  TRAINING  IN  ILLINOIS  AS 

AN  OBJECTIVE 


BY 


CHARLES  SHERMAN  DALE 
B.  S.,  University  of  Illinois,  1920 


THESIS 


Submitted  in  Partial  Fulfillment  of  the  Requirements  for  the 

Degree  of 

MASTER  OF  ARTS 
IN  EDUCATION 

IN 


THE  GRADUATE  SCHOOL 

OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS 


1921 


• • 
- • 


• - ■ .• 


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476963 


' 1 ' ,OT  •'  •'"rr  dm  taut  amwACxm  yujmh  . 

( • 


' 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 


Chapter  Page 

I*  Introduction 1 

II.  Present  size  of  high-school  plants 

in  Illinois .4 

III.  Estimated  size  of  high-school  plant  in 

1930 17 

IV.  Buildings  and  teachers  needed.. 32 

V.  Summary 41 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2016 


https://archive.org/details/universalhighschOOdale 


1 


Chapter  I 
I.  Introduction 

The  high  sohool  stands  out  prominently  in  the  system  of  public  schools 
not  only  beoause  of  its  phenomenal  growth  but  also  beoause  of  its  rapidly  grow- 
ing field  for  usefulness.  It  was  organized  as  a preparatory  sohool  for  college 
and  was  largely  under  ohuroh  oontrol  prior  to  the  Civil  War.  During  this  period, 
it  was  a seleot  sohool  and  only  served  the  wealthier  olass.  Since  then  the 
community  has  been  increasingly  influencing  the  high  school,  with  the  result 
that  it  no  longer  serves  the  few  who  attend  oollege  but  those,  as  well,  who  do 
not  attend  college.  This  preoipitated  the  struggle  between  the  college  on  the 
one  hand  and  the  community  on  the  other.  The  one  insisting  that  the  high  sohool* s 
function  is  to  prepare  for  college;  the  other  that  it  should  prepare  for  life. 
These  influences  are  still  present  but  the  struggle  is  subsiding  and  eaoh  reoog- 
nizes  the  claims  of  the  other.  Either  influence  predominating  to  the  exclusion 
of  the  other  would  be  disastrous  as  long  as  there  are  some  who  go  to  oollege 
and  some  who  do  not • 

The  high  school  oame  with  the  eoonomic  revolution  brought  about  by 
the  great  labor  saving  inventions,  and  the  marvelous  growth  of  scientifio 
knowledge.  The  present  oonditions  require  it.  It  is  the  product  of  no  man's 
theories.  The  complexity  of  modern  life  demands  a more  oomplete  training  than 
the  elementary  school  affords.  Every  business  interest  demands  it.  In  every 
way  the  influence  of  the  high  sohool  is  as  neoessary  as  it  is  benign. 

The  problem  of  making  the  high-school  an  institution  for  the  masses 
has  been  seriously  oonsidered  for  several  years.  In  faot,  universal  high- 


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2 


school  training  has  been  prominent  as  an  ideal  among  educators  of  this  country 
for  the  past  decade.  The  increases  in  the  number  of  high  schools  and  in  high- 
sohool  enrollment  show  that  a little  advance  toward  realizing  this  ideal  has 
been  made.  The  universal  high  school  as  we  shall  think  of  it,  will  be  the 
upper  four  years  of  a twelve-year  state  school  system,  with  the  courses  of  study 
so  organized  that  all  pupils,  except  the  feeble-minded,  can  successfully  negotiate 
at  least  one  of  the  oourses.  The  universal  high-school  plant  is  to  be  large 
enough  to  provide  high-school  opportunities  for  all  pupils  of  high-school  ages. 
This  twelve-year  plan  of  school  organizat ion  would  make  the  normal  high-school 
ages  14,  15,  16,  and  17,  providing  entrance  at  six  and  allowing  for  no  retardation 
The  results  of  this  study  are  based  upon  oompulsory  attendance  to  the  age  of 
IS,  with  provision  for  earlier  graduation  by  the  superior  group,  and  with  retarda- 
tion reduced  to  a minimum. 

The  purpose  of  this  thesis  is  to  show  what  the  magnitude  of  the 
universal  high-sohool  plant  in  Illinois  would  be  in  1930.  The  high-school 
plant  for  our  purpose  consists  of  the  number  of  high-school  buildings,  in  which 
high  schools  are  operating,  and  the  number  of  high-school  teachers  in  service. 

In  our  plan  of  treatment  we  shall  oonsider  first  the  present  sixe  of 
the  high-sohool  plant  in  Illinois.  Following  this  we  shall  estimate  the  size 
of  the  universal  high-school  plant  in  1930.  And  last  we  shall  interpret  the 
increase  in  size  of  the  universal  high-sohool  plant  in  1930  over  1920,  in  terms 
of  wealth,  taxation  and  teacher-training  facilities. 


. 


3 


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Figure  1.  Number  of  High  Schools  in  Illinois  (l) 


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(l)  Reports  of  Superintendent  of  Public  Instruction. 


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Chapter  II 

Number  of  High  Schools 

The  State  Superintendent  of  Public  Instruction  issues  biennial  reports, 
whioh  oontain  various  faots  relative  to  the  high  schools  of  Illinois.  These 
reports  for  the  years  1900  to  1920  contain  the  data  shown  in  Figure  1. 

From  this  ourve  we  can  read  the  number  of  high  schools  in  Illinois 
from  1900  to  1920,  and  also  note  the  rate  of  inorease  of  high  schools  during 
each  biennial  period.  There  are  at  present  970  high  sohools  in  Illinois  against 
320  in  1900.  No  distinction  is  made  here  between  the  different  types  of  high 
schools.  The  one,  two,  three,  and  four-year  high  sohools,  as  well  as  the  non- 
recognized,  and  reoognized,  are  included.  The  number  of  high  schools  has  more 
than  trebled  in  20  years.  The  inorease  from  1900  to  1914  is  gradual,  but  for  the 
biennium  1914-16  the  inorease  is  very  rapid.  The  increase  during  the  next 
bie unium, however , shows  only  a slight  inorease.  If  we  were  called  upon  to  as- 
sign a cause  for  this,  we  would  say,  that  during  this  period  there  were  few 
buildings  constructed,  partly  as  a matter  of  patriotism,  and  partly  due  to  the 
almost  prohibitive  prioes  of  building  material.  The  increase  from  1915  to 
1920  is  very  great.  A very  significant  fact  is  shown  by  this  ourve  in  regard 
to  the  rate  of  inorease  in  number  of  high  schools  during  the  last  six  years. 

There  have  been  400  high  schools  organized  in  Illinois  since  1914.  All  of  these 
do  not  represent  new  buildings,  but  some  of  them  now  occupying  old  elementary 
buildings  have  voted  funds  for  new  buildings,  and  quite  a few- have  the  matter 
pending. 


5 


The  high  school  whioh  meets  the  standard  for  the  universal  high  school 
is  one  offering  a four-year  course  and  is  fully  recognized  by  the  State  Depart- 
ment of  Public  Instruction.  In  oxder  to  determine  the  number  of  high  sohools 
in  Illinois  at  present  which  measure  up  to  this  standard,  we  present  on  the 
following  page  Table  I whioh  shows  the  various  types  of  high  sohools  upon  the 
basis  of  recognition  and  length  of  course. 


« 


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6 


Table  I 

High  Schools  of  Illinois^1  ^ 1920 
(Classified  upon  basis  of  recognition) 

’One-year  Two-year  , Three-year  Four-year  t Total 


Non-reoognized : 14  : 64  : 4 : 14  : 96 

Pending  recognition*..:  0 : 3$  : 37  : 39  : 114 

Recognized : 0 : 7 : 11  : 473  : *+93 

Probat ionary  reoogni-  : : : : : 

tion : 0 : 90  : 54  : 93  : 267 

Total : 14  : 199  T"  136~  : 621  1 970~ 

Total  per  cent  : 1*4  : 20.3  : 14.0  : 64.0  : 


(1)  Illinois  Sohool  Directory  1921. 

Types  of  High  Sohools 

Rot  only  the  size  of  the  high  sohool  plant  as  expressed  by  the 
number  of  high  schools,  but  also  the  quality  of  the  high  schools  as  indicated 
by  the  classification  based  upon  recognition,  is  pertinent  in  this  oonneotion. 

The  Illinois  Sohool  Directory  for  the  year  1920-21,  as  published  by 
the  State  Department  of  Education  at  Springfield,  is  the  source  of  the  data  con- 
tained in  Table  I and  illustrated  in  Figure  2.  This  table  reveals  much  con- 
cerning the  character  of  high  sohools  in  Illinois.  There  are  reported  14  one- 
year  high  sohools,  all  of  whioh  are  non-recognized;  199  two-year,  of  which  64 
are  non-reoognized,  35  pending  recognition,  7 recognized,  and  90  on  probation; 
of  three-year,  4 non-reoognized,  37  pending  recognition, 11  recognized  and  54 
on  probation;  of  the  621  four-year  high  sohools,  14  are  non-reoognized,  39 
pending  recognition,  473  recognized  and  93  on  probation. 

These  faots  show  that  349  out  of  970,  or  33«9  per  cent  of  all  high 
sohools  in  the  state  are  below  the  standard  of  a four-year  high  school,  and 


7 


Figure  2,  Recognition  of  High  Schools 


Legend:  - 


One-year  High  Schools 

Two-year  High  Schools ----- 
Three-year  High  Schools---- 
Four-year  High  Schools 


CUD 


. 


■ 


s 

that  only  475  out  of  the  970,  or  4tf«9  per  cent,  are  fully  reoognized  four-year 
high  schools*  It  is  obvious  from  this  table  that  recognition  and  length  of 
oourse  go  together. 

The  standard  of  quality,  reoognized  by  the  State  Department  of  Public 
Instruction  - that  is,  a four-year,  fully  recognized  high  school-  when  applied 
to  all  the  high  schools  of  the  state,  gives  a percentage  rating  of  4S.9,  as 
475  only  out  of  970  schools  meet  this  standard  of  quality. 


• M w 1 


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9 


Table  II 

Number  of  High-School  Teaohers  in  Illinois^  ^ 


Year 

Number  of  Teaohers 

Increase 

Peroent 

Inorease 

1 ' 

1900 

1403 

1902 

1606 

203 

14.5 

1904 

1511 

205 

12.7 

1906 

2057 

246 

13.6 

1905 

2305 

245 

12.1 

1910 

2o94 

359 

12.5 

1912..... 

3040 

346 

12.5 

1914 

3651 

bll 

20.1 

1916 

4693 

1042 

25.5 

191® 

5476 

753 

16.6 

1 • • • • • 

6215 

742 

13.6 

(1)  Biennial  Reports  of  Superintendent  of  Publio  Instruction. 

Teaching  Staff 

By  comparing  the  date  of  Table  II  with  that  shown  in  Figure  1,  we 
find  rather  close  correlation,  that  is,  for  the  percentage  and  numerical  in- 
creases in  the  number  of  high-sohool  teachers,  there  are  corresponding  increases 
in  number  of  high  schools.  This  is  what  should  be  expected,  since  an  increase 
in  the  number  of  high  schools  creates  a demand  for  more  teachers. 

The  inorease  from  1900  to  1914  is  very  gradual,  but  for  the  years  1914 
and  1916  the  inorease  of  high-sohool  teaohers  almost  doubled  what  it  was  in 
1912  and  in  1914  respectively. 


10 


Frequent  changes  in  high-sohool  legislation  may  account  for  some 
fluctuations  in  increases.  For  example,  the  percentage  increases  of  high-sohool 
teachers  in  191'+  and  in  1916  of  20.1  and  2 £.5  per  cent  respectively  may  be  due 
to  an  aot  of  the  legislature  of  1913  to  provide  high-school  privileges  for 
graduates  of  the  eighth  grade,  which  reads:  "That  graduates  of  the  eighth  grade 
residing  in  a school  district  in  which  no  public  high  school  is  maintained, 
shall  be  admitted,  upon  payment  of  tuition,  to  any  public  high  school,  with  the 
consent  of  the  school  board  of  the  district  in  which  such  high  school  is 
situated.  The  tuition  of  suoh  pupils  shall  be  paid  by  the  district  in  whioh 
they  reside  from  any  funds  not  otherwise  appropriated,  but  in  no  case  shall  the 
tuition  per  pupil  exceed  the  per  capita  cost  of  maintaining  the  high  school 
selected." 

There  are  at  present  62l£  high-school  teachers  in  Illinois  as  against 
1403  in  1900.  The  number  of  high-sohool  teachers  has  more  than  quadrupled  in 
twenty  years.  This  very  great  inorease  is  due  largely  to  the  growing  popularity 
of  the  high  sohool.  Of  course  the  total  population  has  increased  and  to  that 
extent  has  increased  the  demand  for  teaohers. 

Preparation  of  Teaohers 

Not  only  the  number  of  high  sohool  teaohers  at  present  in  Illinois 
but  their  preparation  is  important.  Figure  4 shows  the  total  number  of  high- 
sohool  teaohers  in  Illinois  from  1912  to  191&,  and  also  suoh  teachers  who  were 
oollege  graduates  only,  normal  sohool  graduates  only,  and  the  number  of  graduates 
of  both  college  and  normal.  In  1912  there  were  3040  high-school  teaohers  in 
Illinois.  Of  these  1732  were  oollege  graduates  only,  33 1 normal  graduates  only, 
and  343  graduates  of  both  oollege  and  normal;  and  in  191S  the  total  number  of 
high-sohool  teaohers  was  5476,  of  whioh  3051  were  oollege  graduates,  627  normal 
and  560  oollege  and  normal. 


P‘,, I 

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1 


12 


The  signifioanoe  of  this  figure  is:  first,  that  it  shows  the  rapid, 
increase  in  number  of  high-sohool  teaohers,  especially  during  period  of  191b- 
191S  inclusive;  seoondly,  that  the  standard  of  preparation  or  training  of 
high-school  teaohers  will  be  realised  when  the  sum  of  the  "college  graduates 
only"  and  "both  00 liege  and  normal  graduates'*  will  produce  a curve  which  super- 
imposes itself  upon  the  curve  showing  the  total  number  of  high-school  teaohers; 
and  lastly,  that  the  per  cent  of  oollege  graduates  is  greatly  increasing  in 
Illinois.  This  is  shown  by  the  faot  that  the  curve  for  the  oollege  graduates 
rises  muoh  more  rapidly  from  1912  to  191&,  than  does  the  ourve  for  the  normal 
graduates.  Also  the  percent  of  oollege  graduates  only  at  present  is  bS , while 
in  1912  it  was  *>7. 


13 


Table  III 

Number  of  High  Sohools  Offering  the  Indioated  Courses 


Courses 

1912 

.*  1913 

1914 

1913 

1916 

1917 

1915 

Academio 

525 

: 579 

397 

393 

527 

854 

EW~ 

Commercial 

167 

; isi 

193 

192 

332 

352 

397 

Technical 

129 

: H6 

133 

140 

217 

240 

229 

Agriculture 

34 

: 57 

76 

86 

165 

197 

203 

Dorn.  Science 

107 

! 105 

131 

150 

221 

257 

250 

Normal  training 

45 

I 43 

(a) 

(a ) 

94 

112 

113 

(a)  No  data 

(1)  Reports  of  the  Superintendent  of  Public  Instruction. 


Courses  of  Study 

Table  III  shows  the  latitude  of  the  training  offered  by  the  present- 
day  high  school,  and  how  different  it  is  from  the  old  classical  or  college- 
preparatory  high  school.  The  aoademic  or  classical  oourse  is  still  the  pre- 
vailing course  as  is  shown  by  the  faot  that  practically  every  high  sohool  in  the 
state  reports  suoh  a oourse.  There  are  only  a few  teohnioal  high  schools  in  the 
state  where  the  aoademic  course  is  not  offered. 

It  is  surprising  to  note  that  the  oommercial  and  technical  oourses 
eire  offered  in  more  high  schools  than  the  agricultural  oourse  despite  the  faot 
that  agriculture  1b  the  leading  industry  in  the  state.  This  is  perhaps  due  to 
several  oauses.  First,  agriculture  is  a young  science,  so  far  as  formal  teaching 
material  is  concerned.  The  courses  in  the  agricultural  sohools  have  been  worked 
up  as  new  fa.ots  have  been  discovered  through  experimental  researoh  during  the 
last  two  deoades.  Second,  the  notion  has  been  prevalent  that  formal  education 


14 


was  not  necessary  for  praotioing  agriculture.  This  misconception  is  fast  dis- 
appearing as  is  evidenced  by  the  inorease  in  the  number  of  schools  offering 
agriculture.  In  1912  only  54  high  sohools  offered  an  agricultural  oourse, 
and  in  191#  there  were  205,  or  2#0  per  cent  gain  in  7 years.  At  this  rate  of 
inorease  and  with  the  stimulus  given  the  oourse  by  federal  aid,  agriculture  will 
in  a very  few  years  be  offered  in  practically  all  high  sohools.  Domestic 
science  and  normal  oourses  have  more  than  doubled  in  7 years. 

The  magnitude  of  the  high-sohool  plant  in  1920  may  be  briefly 
summarized,  as  follows:  There  are  in  Illinois  970  high  sohools, of  whioh  475> 
or  49  per  oent , are  fully  recognized  four-year  high,  schools.  The  970  high 
schools  employ  621&  teachers, of  which  approximately  6#  per  oent  are  oollege 
graduates.  Six  distinot  oourses  are  offered,  the  academic,  commercial,  domestio 
science,  technical,  agrioulture,  and  normal  training.  The  order  listed  here 
indicated  the  frequency  with  which  they  are  offered.  In  191#  the  aoademic 
was  offered  in  £40,  or  all,  of  the  high  sohools,  the  commercial  was  offered  in 
3 97  high  schools,  the  domestic  science  280,  the  technical  229,  the  agriculture 
205  and  the  normal  training  in  113  high  sohools. 


15 


Table  IT 

High  School  Enrollment  in  Illinois^*  1 ^ 


Year  Enrollment  Inorease  in  2-year  Per  oent  Enrollment 

period  inorease  per  teaoher 


1900 

38,758 

27 

,1902 

41,951 

3,193 

8. 2 

26 

1904 

45,783 

3, £34 

9.1 

25 

1906 

52,394 

6,611 

14.4 

25 

190# 

56,536 

4,142 

7.9 

24 

1910 

63,392 

6, S56 

12.1 

23 

1912 

74,56S 

11,176 

17.6 

24 

1914 

£5,301 

10,733 

14.4 

23 

1916 

104,£2£ 

19,527 

22.9 

22 

1917 

114,441 

9, 613(b) 

9.1 

21 

1 91 8 

H2,559(  a ) 

7,731 

7.3 

20 

1920 

127, £21 

15,262 

13.5 

20 

(a)  Decrease  from  1917. 

(b)  Increase  over  1916. 

(1)  Biennial  Reports  of  Superintendent  of  Publio  Instruction. 

Enrollment 

The  pupils  enrolled  in  the  high  schools  are  not  a part  of  the  high- 
school  plant,  but  are  the  material  to  be  fashioned  and  trained. In  order  to 
establish  the  ratios  of  pupils  to  high  schools  or  buildings  and  of  pupils  to 
teaohers  in  service,  we  will  present  at  this  time  a study  of  the  high-school 
enrollment  in  Illinois  from  1900  to  1920.  In  1900  there  were  38,758  students 
enrolled  in  the  high  schools  of  Illinois.  In  1910  there  were  63,392  enrolled, 
an  inoreuse  of  63  per  cent  in  10  years.  The  enrollment  in  1920  was  127, £21, 


16 


an  increase  of  102  per  cent  over  1910. 

The  percentage  inorease  in  1916  over  1914-  is  22. 9>  and  this  is  followed 
by  the  1912  increase  of  17.6.  The  only  cause  which  I oan  assign  for  this  is 
that  the  favorable  high-school  legislation  for  the  years  1911  and  1915  stimulated 
enrollment.  The  decided  decrease  for  the  year  191S  over  1916  can  be  easily  ex- 
plained by  the  conditions  resulting  from  the  world  war.  Evidence  of  this  is 
shown  by  the  increase  in  1920,  which  shows  a strong  recovery  from  the  effects 
of  the  war  upon  high-school  enrollment. 

The  last  column  gives  the  ratios  of  high-school  enrollment  to  high- 
school  teachers  in  service,  biennially  from  1900  to  1920.  These  ratios  were 
obtained  by  dividing  the  number  of  pupils  enrolled  for  the  biennial  years 
reported  by  the  number  of  high-school  teachers  in  service  those  years. 

A very  consistent  decrease  in  ratio  is  shown  except  for  the  year 
1912  when  there  was  a slight  increase.  In  1900  there  were  27  pupils  enrolled 
in  the  high  schools  of  Illinois  for  each  teacher  in  service,  and  the  present 
enrollment  per  teacher  in  service  is  20.  The  significance  of  this  tendenoy 
and  its  consequent  effect  upon  the  size  of  the  teaching  staff  in  1930  will  be 
discussed  later. 

The  ratio  of  pupils  enrolled  to  the  number  of  high  schools,  may  like- 
wise be  found.  That  is,  by  dividing  the  enrollment  of  any  particular  year  by 
the  number  of  high  sohools  for  that  year.  In  1900  this  ratio  was  121.  In 
1910  this  ratio  was  124  and  at  present  it  is  132.  Use  of  the  ratios  will  be 
made  later  when  we  are  estimating  the  size  of  the  universal  high-school  plant 


in  1930 


' 


17 


Problem 


Chapter  III 

Size  of  Universal  High-school  Plant  in  1930. 


The  seoond  division  of  this  problem  has  to  do  with  estimating  the  size 
of  the  high-school  plant  in  Illinois  in  1930,  if  it  should  be  fully  operative 
as  a universal  high  school  at  that  time. 

Treatment 

In  the  treatment  of  this  second  division  we  shall  use  two  methods  of 
arriving  at  our  estimate  for  1930.  The  first  method  will  be  upon  the  basis  of 
total  population  of  the  state,  and  the  seoond  method  will  be  based  upon  the 
first-year  elementary  school  enrollments  in  1919  and  1920.  The  estimate  will 
show  the  number  of  persons  of  high-school  age,  in  other  words,  the  number  of 
pupils  to  provide  high-school  opportunities  for  in  1930. 

We  must  admit  that  neither  of  these  methods  is  entirely  satisfactory, 
but  by  giving  proper  weight  to  the  various  facts  and  interpreting  these  facts 
properly  we  oan  estimate  rather  accurately  the  elements  that  will  oompose  the 
high-school  plant  in  1930.  Both  methods  are  indireot.  By  the  first  method, 
we  shall  estimate  the  total  population  for  1930,  and  apply  to  this  number  the 
per  oent  of  high-school  ages.  This  will  give  us  the  number  in  the  high-sohool 
group.  The  number  of  high-sohool  pupils  in  1930  can  then  be  interpreted  in 
terms  of  high-schools  and  teachers. 

By  the  seoond  method  we  shall  start  with  the  first-year  elementary 
school  enrollment  for  1919-1920  and  apply  various  corrections  to  this  number, 

in  order  to  arrive  at  the  probable  number  that  will  reaoh  the  high  school  before 


ltf  years  of  age,  or  will  survive  to  1930  and  constitute  the  high-school  group 


/ 


' 


* 


is 

The  size  of  the  universal  high-school  plant  depends  upon  several 
faotors.  The  first  and  perhaps  the  most  determining  is  the  present  population 
of  the  state,  its  oharaoter  and  composition,  and  the  probable  rate  of  increase 
in  the  future.  There  are, however,  certain  general  aspeots  of  the  subject  of 
population,  which  may  have  an  intimate  bearing  upon  the  development  of  the 
high  school  in  Illinois  as  a universal  institution.  The  first  of  these  is  the 
causes  of  inorease. 

The  natural  increase 

The  natural  increase  in  population  is  due  to  the  excess  of  births  over 
deaths.  This  inorease  oould  be  easily  and  accurately  calculated  if  the  offioial 
reports  of  births  and  deaths  were  available. 

One  of  the  oldest  and  apparently  most  satisfactory  method  of  cal- 
culating the  excess  of  births  over  deaths  is  to  take  the  number  of  those,  who, 
at  eaoh  decennial  oensus,  are  found  to  be  less  than  ten  years  of  age,  and  sub- 
tract the  number  of  deaths  during  the  ten-year  period.  It  is  evident,  that  all 
those  who,  in  1920,  are  found  to  be  under  ten  years  of  age,  have  been  added  to 
the  population  since  the  oensus  in  1910.  The  age  distribution  for  Illinois 
in  1920  is  not  available  from  which  to  determine  the  number  under  ten  years  old, 
but  suppose  the  increase  of  ten-year  olds  to  be  the  same  as  for  the  decade 
1900-1910,  which  is  4.7  per  oentj  we  would  have  1,197,600  ohildren  under  ten 
years  of  age  in  1920*  in  other  words,  that  number  of  births  during  the  decade. 

By  applying  the  mortality  rate  for  Illinois  to  the  population  in  1910  it  gives 
about  919*000  deaths  during  the  deoade.  The  excess  of  births  over  deaths  then 
would  be  about  273,000,  or  approximately  5 per  oent  inorease  due  to  the  natural 
inorease  of  population  in  Illinois  for  the  decade  1910-1920. 

Immigration 

Another  oause  of  increase  in  population  is  immigration.  The  number 


TKLsnc^nacnan 


. 


■ 


:•  . 


19 


of  foreign-born  in  Illinois  will  give  us  an  idea  of  the  extent  the  faotor 
of  nationality  enters  into  the  problem. 

Illinois,  in  1920,  had  1,20.4,403  foreign-born  residents,  an  inorease 
of  .2  of  one  per  oent  over  1910.  This  is  the  smallest  percentage  inorease  of 
any  state.  This  low  inorease  is  largely  due  to  the  fact  that  Lmnigration  was 
largely  prohibited  during  the  period  of  war.  The  faot  that  19  per  cent  of  the 
population  of  Illinois  is  foreign  born  makes  prominent  the  alien  and  nationality 
faotors. 

Illinois  is  so  thoroughly  settled,  as  is  shown  by  the  fact  that  there 
is  on  an  average  116  inhabitants^1^  per  square  mile.  Furthermore,  all  the 
features  of  a frontier  population  have  disappeared;  such  as,  ratio  of  adults  to 
children,  where  the  ratio  is  greater  than  in  old  thickly-settled  territory. 

Urban  vs . rural 

Also  the  population  of  Illinois  is  largely  urban.  Sixty-seven  per 
cent  of  the  population  live  in  172  cities  and  towns  of  2,300  or  more,  while 
33  per  cent  live  in  towns  less  than  2,300  or  purely  rural  territory;  - that  is, 
not  in  small  towns  and  villages. 

In  any  oomplete  study  of  the  possibility  of  realizing  universal 
high-school  training  all  of  these  factors,  and  many  others,  would  have  to  be 
considered  in  more  detail,  but  our  problem  is  only  to  estimate  the  size  of  the 
universal  high-school  plant  in  1930  and  hence  I w ill  only  mention  these  factors 
briefly. 

Populat ion  of  high-school  ages . 

While  the  total  population  of  the  state  has  a limiting  influence  upon 
the  high-school  enrollment,  yet  the  population  of  high-school  ages  has  a stronger 


(1)  The  advance  oensus  sheets  for  1920  gives  a variety  of  faots  concerning  the 
population  of  the  various  states.  The  faots  reported  here  were  taken  from 
this  source. 


‘ . , 


20 


immediate  influence.  If  we  aooept  the  &->+  plan  of  organization  the  normal 
ages  would  be  14,15,16,  and  17.  The  United  State  Census  Bureau  gives  the  age 
distribution  of  population,  and  from  its  reports  we  oan  obtain  the  number  of 
persons  in  Illinois  of  these  ages  for  1900,  1910  and  1920.  These  numbers  and 
their  ratios  to  the  total  population  will  furnish  us  a means  of  estimating  the 
number  of  persons  of  high-school  ages  in  1930.  It  will,  however,  appear  later 
that  some  corrections  will  have  to  be  made  due  to  other  faotors  increasing  or 
decreasing  the  number  to  be  provided  for.  Physioal  defects,  intelligence  and 
other  retarding  influences  have  been  operating  upon  this  group  since  they  first 
entered  school. 

Feeble-mindedness 

The  number  of  pupils  to  be  enrolled  in  the  universal  high  sohool  in 
1930  does  not  include  the  feeble-minded  group.  Just  how  large  is  this  group 
is  a quest ioh.  Terman  is  perhaps  the  best  authority  on  the  intelligence  of 
children  in  this  oountry,  and  he  estimates  that  one  per  cent  is  feeble-minded. 

In  our  final  estimate  correction  will  be  made  for  feeble-mindedness. 

Organ! zat ion 

The  number  of  teachers  needed  for  the  universal  high  school  is  deter- 
mined somewhat  by  the  method  of  organization  adopted  for  the  high  school.  For 
example,  the  size  of  the  olasses  into  which  the  school  is  organized  for  the 
purpose  of  instruction  determines  largely  the  number  of  teachers  needed.  As 
was  shown  on  page  16,  the  ratio  of  teaoher  to  pupils  has  increased  gradually 
from  1900  to  1920.  There  is  a notion  among  sohool  administrators  that  25  to 
30  pupils  per  teacher  is  the  maximum  number.  Their  present  ratio  in  Illinois 
is  20.  The  results  of  an  experiment  Just  completed  in  the  Illinois  city  schools 
by  Mr.  P.R. Stevenson,  indicates  that  a class  of  35  pupils  profits  as  much  by 
instruction,  as  a olass  of  20  pupils.  If  we  should  accept  these  results,  the 
number  of  teaohers  oould  be  reduced  praotioally  one-half  and  yet  not  lower  the 


. 


‘ 

* 


22 


Table  V 


Population  of  Illinois 


(1) 


Year 

Populat ion 

Increase  in 
population  for 
10-year  period 

Per  cent  of 
inorease 

1560 

1,711,931 

560,451 

101.0 

1570 

2,339,591 

527,940 

45.3 

1550 

3,077,571 

337,950 

21.2 

1590 

3,526,331 

745,450 

24.3 

1900 

4,521,330 

993,199 

26.0 

1910 

3,63^,391 

517,041 

16. 9 

1920 

6,453,09S 

546,307 

15.0 

1930 

7,133,S05(?)* (b) 

645,710 

10.0  (?) 

(1)  Reports  of  U.S.  Census. 

(b)  Estimated  by  promoting  peroentage  increases  as  shown  in  figure  6. 


Total  populat ion 

The  total  population  seems  to  furnish  a ready  basis  for  estimating 
the  number  of  pupils  of  high-sohool  ages.  Table  V shows  the  population  of 
Illinois,  the  inorease  for  eaoh  ten-year  period  and  the  per  oent  of  increase. 

In  1560  the  population  was  1,711,931,  or  560,451  more  than  for  1530, 
representing  a peroentage  inorease  for  the  decade  of  101  per  cent;  while  during 
the  succeeding  deoades  the  increases  were  45.2,  21.2,  24*3,  26.0,  16.9,  and  15»0 
per  oent.  A graphical  representation  is  somewhat  irregular,  but  by  smoothing 
the  curve  representing  the  percentage  increases  by  decades  from  1590-1920 
as  shown  in  Figure  6,  the  ourve  shows  a gradually  descending  increase,  and  by 
projecting  this  curve  to  1930,  the  peroentage  inorease  for  the  decade  will 


probably  be  10  per  cent 


24 

If  this  10  per  cent  inorease  is  approximately  correct,  we  see  that  the 
state  is  becoming  rapidly  populated  or  tending  toward  a statio  condition,  where 
the  death  rate  equals  the  birth  rate.  However,  I do  not  think  suoh  a condition 
will  exist  in  Illinois  soon,  but  as  this  condition  is  more  nearly  approached, 
social  and  economic  factors  which  influence  the  growth  of  population  will  be 
modified,  industries  will  operate  on  an  intensive  basis,  and  the  percentage 
increases  resulting  will  probably  be  low  and  rather  constant  for  several  deoades. 

Uy  applying  the  moving  average,  the  curve  shown  in  Figure  6 for  the 
percentage  increases  for  the  deoades,  was  smoothed  and  the  resulting  per  cents 
obtained  23. 6 for  1&90,  22.4  for  1900,  19 .3  for  19 10,  and  15.6  for  1920. 

These  smoothing  averages  were  obtained,  beginning  with  1&90,  by 
adding  the  21.2,  24*3  and  26  and  dividing  the  sum  by  3 , which  gave  the  quotient 
of  2 5*S  per  cent.  For  the  second  average  per  cent  inorease,  we  divided  the  sum 
of  24.3,  26.0,  and  16.9  by  3,  which  gave  22.4  per  oent . Continuing  this  until 
the  last  term,  which  was  obtained  by  adding  two  times  the  last  per  oent  to  the 
term  before  the  last,  and  dividing  the  sum  by  3,  gave  15*6  per  cent.  The  ten 
per  oent  shown  in  Table  VII  and  in  Figure  6 as  the  percentage  inorease  for  the 
deoade  1920-30  was  obtained  by  projecting  the  curve  which  passes  through  these 
smoothed  average  points,  in  the  same  general  direction. 

This  10  per  cent  increase  would  give  Illinois  a total  population  of 
7,133,#0&  in  1930.  This  total  is  used  in  this  paper  to  calculate  the  inorease 
in  population  for  the  ages  14,13,16  and  17.  Knowing  the  population  of  Illinois 
for  these  ages  for  the  year  1900,  1910  and  1920,  we  oan,  by  applying  the  per- 
centage inorease  for  the  total  population,  approximate  the  number  of  persons 
there  will  be  of  high-school  age  in  1930,  and  consequently  the  number  which 
determines  the  si/se  of  the  universal  high-school  plant. 


. 


' 


25 


Table  VI 


Dumber  of  Persons  in 

Illinois  Ages 

(1) 

14,15,16,17. 

Age 

Year 

1900 

1910 

1920 

1930 

14 

96, *72 

107,369 

122,401 

134,641(S 

15 

94,029 

: 100,207 

114,236 

125,659 

16 

95,451 

111,596 

127,220 

139,942 

17 

91,525 

1 0£,  03  5 

123,160 

135,476 

Total 

427,207 

4*7,017 

535,71* 

(1)  United  States  Census  Reports* 
(a)  10  per  cent  increase  over  1920 


Persons  of  high-school  ages 

The  United  States  Census  Reports  contain  age-distribution  tables  from 
which  these  date  were  taken.  Table  VI  shows  the  number  of  persons  of  ages  14, 
15,16,  and  17  tthe  normal  high-school  ages)  for  the  years  1900,  1910,  and  1920. 
The  number  for  1930  was  calculated  by  taking  the  per  cent  the  high-school  age 
population  is  of  the  total  population  of  the  state.  This  per  cent  w'as  obtained 
for  eaoh  of  the  years  1900,  1910,  and  1920.  The  average  of  these  was  found  to 
be  7.5 . 

Wow  if  the  total  population  of  the  state  for  1930  has  been  accurately 
estimated,  we  may  apply  this  7.5  per  oent  to  the  total  population  of  the  state 
for  1930  and  obtain  the  number  of  persons  of  high-school  ages  in  1930, which  is 
535,000.  This  number  represents  the  number  of  pupils  of  high-school  ages  but 
not  necessarily  the  number  that  determines  the  size  of  the  universal  high-school 
plant,  as  correction  will  have  to  be  made  for  feeble-mindedness,  and  perhaps 


26 


retardation 

and  acceleration. 

Table  VII 

(1) 

Elimination  by  Death 

Age 

Deaths 

14-year 

15 -year 

16-year 

17-year 

Interval 

Annually 

olds 

olds 

olds 

olds 

Per  Thous 

and 

16-17 

3.16 

99.7 

15-16 

2.  £4 

— 

99.7 

99.4 

14-15 

2.56 

99.7 

99.4 

99.1 

13-14 

2.36 

99.7 

99.4 

99a 

9 8.8 

12-13 

2.22 

99.4 

99.1 

9 8.8 

98.5 

11-12 

2.19 

99.1 

98.8 

9 8.3 

98.2 

10-11 

2.27 

9 8.8 

9S.5 

98.2 

91.8 

9-10 

2.47 

98.5 

98.2 

91.8 

97.4 

8-9 

2.82 

98.2 

91.8 

97.4 

97.0 

1-8 

3.30 

91.8 

97.4 

97.0 

96.6 

6-7 

3.91 

97.4 

97.0 

96.6 

96.2 

(1)  United 

States  Life  Tables:  1910,  p.16 

• 

The  second  method 

of  estimating 

the  number  of  pupils  of 

the 

normal 

high-school 

ages  in  1930 

is 

upon  the  basis 

of  the  first 

-year  elementary-school 

enrollment . 

This  enrollment 

in  1919  represents  the  seniors  In  the 

high  school  in 

1930.  This 

enrollment  in 

1920  represents 

the  juniors. 

and  these  enrollments  in 

1921  and  1922  represent  the 

sophomores  and 

freshmen  respectively. 

To 

these  we 

will  apply  the  mortality 

rate  and  calculate  the  number 

of  pupils  of  the  normal 

high-school 

ages . 

27 


It  is  obvious  that  mortality  is  a faotor  or  influence  that  reduces  the 
number  of  pupils  irom  year  to  year  of  any  given  generation  as  they  advance  from 
grade  to  grade  through  the  elementary  and  high  school*  The  problem  we  have  is 
to  calculate  the  number  of  survivors  from  those  who  enter  the  first  grade  of 
the  elementary  school  when  they  reach  the  high  sohool.  Table  VII  was  constructed 
from  the  census  data  for  the  year  1910,  contained  in  United  States  Life  Tables, 
1910,  p.16.  It  shows  the  annual  rate  of  mortality  per  thousand,  and  the  per 
oent  of  survivors  of  each  earlier  generation  for  14-  year-olds,  15  year-olds,  16 
year-olds  and  17  year-olds. 

These  annual  mortality  rates  for  the  ages  6 to  17  inclusive,  were  de- 
rived from  mortality  conditions  prevailing  in  the  area  referred  to  as  the 
original  registration  states,  composing  Maine,  New  Hampshire,  Vermont,  Massa- 
chusetts, Rhode  Island,  Connecticut,  New  York,  New  Jersey,  Indiana,  Michigan, 
and  the  District  of  Columbia. 

These  mortality  rates  vary  somewhat  in  different  states,  but  in  the 
long  run  the  differences  are  so  small  that  for  our  purpose  the  average  mortality 
rates  for  this  large  area  may  be  used  as  a standard  for  oomparing  the  mortality 
rates  of  a single  state.  The  method  of  calculating  these  rates,  and  the  area 
covered  are  sufficient  to  warrant  oonfidenoe  in  their  use  to  mortality  conditions 
in  Illinois.  Table  VII  reads  that  of  every  100  thousand  children  living  at  the 
exaot  age  of  six,  391  will  die  before  reaohing  the  exaot  age  of  seven,  and  97.4 
per  cent  of  six-year-old  ohildren  will  survive  to  be  14  years  old,  97  per  cent 
15  years  old,  16.6  per  cent  16  years  old,  and  96.2  per  cent  will  survive  to  be 
17  years  old. 

The  first-year  elementary  school  enrollment  in  1919  was  1&0,069, 


in  192P  it  was  16'2,146.  The  question  arises,  how  many  of  these  entered  school 
for  the  first  time?  How  many  are  six  years  old?  We  know  the  first-year  enroll- 


I 


2 8 

ment  inoludes  those  entering  the  grade  for  the  first  time,  those  who  have  been 
left  in  it,  and  are  repeating  the  grade,  and  those  who  have  been  demoted. 

Thorndike,  Ayres,  and  Strayer  in  their  studies  of  elimination  and 
retardation  used  different  methods  of  estimating  the  number  of  the  first  year 
enrollment,  entered  for  the  first  time.  Thorndike  took  the  average  of  the  first, 
second,  and  third  grades.  Ayres  took  the  average  of  the  number  of  ages  7 to  12 
inclusive,  while  Strayer  took  the  largest  age-group.  The  results  were  approximate- 
ly the  same  and  indicate  that  the  first-year  enrollment  is  at  least  25  per  oent 
too  high.  To  oheok  their  results  I took  the  average  of  the  first,  seoond,  and 
third  year  enrollments  in  Illinois  for  191##  and  found  this  average  22  per  cent 
less  than  the  first  year  enrollment.  The  enrollment  were  for  the  first  year 
176, 144,  seoond  year  122,515,  third  year  120,351+»  The  faot  that  there  is  a 
difference  between  the  first  and  seoond  year  enrollments  of  52,000  proves  that 
there  is  considerable  piling  up  in  the  first  grade.  We  shall  therefore  decrease 
the  first  year  enrollment  by  25  per  cent  in  each  oase.  The  true  enrollment  for 
1919  was  135,052  and  for  1920  it  was  136,610. 

Referring  to  the  table  we  notice  that  96.2  per  cent  of  six-year-olds 
will  survive  to  the  age  of  17.  By  applying  this  per  cent  to  135#052  we  have 
129,920  as  the  number  of  survivors  from  the  first-year  enrollment  in  1919#  or  in 
other  words,  these  survivors  will  be  seniors  in  high  school  in  1930.  Likewise 

I 

for  first-year  enrollment  in  1920,  there  will  be  131,965  juniors  in  high  sohool 
in  1930. 

We  are  no w confronted  with  the  problem  of  estimating  the  first-year 
elementary  school  for  the  years  1921  and  1922  in  order  to  get  our  starting  point 
for  oaloulating  the  number  of  survivors  which  will  constitute  the  sophomore  and 
freshman  group  respectively  in  1930.  The  biennial  reports  of  the  Superintendent 


* 


' 


c: 


. 


■ 


29 


of  Public  Instruction  for  Illinois  show  a gradually  decreasing  enrollment  for 
the  first  year  of  the  elementary  school  from  the  years  1914  to  1919*  and  from 
this  faot  we  will  take  the  average  enrollment  for  1919  and  1920  as  the  first- 
year  enrollment  for  1921  and  1922.  This  average  is  135 >£30  when  decreased  by 
the  25  per  oent.  By  referring  again  to  the  table  we  notioe  that  97  and  97.4 
per  oent  of  six-year  olds  survive  to  ages  15  and  14  respectively.  By  applying 
these  peroents  to  135>&30  we  have  131,755  and  131,29£  survivors  from  the  first- 
year  enrollments  in  1921  and  1922,  in  other  words  they  will  be  the  sophomores 
and  freshmen  in  high  school  in  1930.  The  sum  of  these  survivors  is  525,000 
or  the  total  number  of  persons  of  the  ages  14,  15,  16,  and  17  in  Illinois  in 
1930.  The  estimate  by  method  one  was  535,000,  a difference  of  97£0.  We 
realize  that  we  have  not  taken  into  aocount  the  pupils  who  move  in  or  out  of  the 
state  between  entering  school  and  1£  years  of  age.  Since  this  data  is  not 
available  we  shall  assume  that  the  pupils  who  move  in  the  state  are  counter- 
balanced by  those  who  move  out.  The  results  of  these  methods  are  close  enough 
to  make  either  acceptable.  We  shall,  however,  use  the  smaller  number  as  a 
basis  for  interpreting  the  possible  enrollment  in  term*  of  high-sohool  buildings 
and  teachers,  and  they  in  turn  in  terms  of  wealth  and  taxation* 

Intelligence 

Another  factor  which  determines  how  many  of  the  525,000  are  to  be 
inoluded  in  the  universal  high-school  group  is  intelligence.  No  one  will 
question  the  statement  that  there  are  of  high-sohool  age  many  persons  whose 
mental  endowment  is  such  as  to  exclude  them  from  the  high  sohool.  What  per 
cent  of  the  present  high-sohool  group  is  mentally  defective  to  this  extent  is 
a question.  The  universal  high-sohool  plant  is  to  provide  for  all  except  the 
feeble-minded.  Various  definitions  have  been  given  of  feeble-mindedness.  Ac- 
cording to  Terman  in  The  Meas urement  of  Intelligence , all  those  whose  I.Q. 
is  below  70  are  feeble-minded.  This  is  of  oourse  an  arbitrary  division,  but 


. 

' 

- 


: 


. 


30 


it  has  been  rather  generally  accepted,  and  we  shall  apply  it  to  our  problem. 

Terman  found  that  about  one  per  oent  of  school  children  have  I.Q.'s  less  than 
70,  and  are  for  thi6  reason  feeble-minded.  He  also  states  that  with  the  present 
organization  of  ourrioulums  only  about  SO  per  oent  could  successfully  negotiate 
the  high-school  course.  It  is  obvious  then  that  a reorganizat ion  of  the  curriou- 

lums  would  be  necessary  to  inolude  99  per  cent;  99  per  cent  of  525*000  is 

519*000. 

The  question  may  be  raised  do  all  the  feeble-minded  children  enter 
the  first  grade?  The  answer  is  no.  There  are  many  institutional  cases. 

These  are  not  to  be  found  in  the  first  grade,  but  since  parents  are  slow  to 

recognize  mental  weaknesses  in  other  ohildren,  it  is  safe  to  assume  that  a very 

large  per  cent  are  to  be  found  in  the  first  grade. 

Low  intelligence  is  largely  responsible  for  retardation.  Retardation 
would  reduce  the  525,000,  who  would  be  in  the  universal  high  school  in  1930. 

We  are  assuming  that  elimination  of  the  overaged  would  be  very  great  at  age  of 
15  when  oompulsory  attendance  would  be  no  longer  enforced.  We  are  not  assuming 
that  all  retardation  is  due  to  low  intelligence,  in  faot  we  know  it  is  not,  but 
we  will  estimate  the  influence  of  retardation  at  this  point,  rather  than  attempt 
to  oonsider  it  under  the  various  oauses  which  are  usually  assigned  for  retardation 

We  shall  use  data  for  our  estimate  from  Strayer’s  study  of  retardation 
and  elimination  published  in  United  States  Bureau  of  Education  Bulletin  1911* 

No. 5*  In  this  bulletin  overageness  is  shown  for  25  cities  outside  of  Chicago. 

The  facts  which  we  shall  use  are  briefly  these,  that  15  per  oent  are  overage 
one  year,  9*5  per  oent  two  years,  4 per  cent  three  years,  and  1.5  per  cent  four 
or  more  years.  Now  we  estimated  on  page  25  that  there  would  be  132,000  14  year- 
olds,  or  of  freshmen  in  1930.  If  15  per  oent  are  overaged  one  year,  then  24,000 
of  the  14  year  olds  would  be  in  the  eighth  grade.  If  9*5  per  cent  are  overage 
two  year*s,  13,000  of  the  14  year-olds  would  be  found  in  the  seventh  grade.  If 


•• 


.. 


■ 


■ 


. 


31 


4 per  oent  are  overage  three  years,  5*000  of  14  year-olds  would  be  found  in  the 
sixth  grade.  If  1*5  per  cent  are  overage  four  years  or  more,  then  2,000  of 
the  14  year-olds  would  be  found  below  the  sixth  grade.  A total  of  44,000 
of  the  14  year-olds  would  be  found  below  the  high  school.  By  applying  these 
per  cents  likewise  to  the  15*  16,  and  17  year-olds,  20,000  1 5 year-olds,  7,000 
16  year-olds,  and  2,000  17  year-olds  would  be  found  below  the  high  sohool.  A 
grand  total  of  73*000  of  high-school  ages  would  be  found  below  the  high  school. 

The  same  source  from  which  these  overage  per  cents  were  taken  also 
shows  that  for  the  same  2 5 Illinois  cities  approximately  2 per  oent  of  the  pupils 
are  underage,  that  is,  they  are  accelerated.  Since  this  per  cent  is  so  low, 
and  therefore  would  not  greatly  ohange  the  results,  we  6hall  assume  that  this 
2 per  cent  is  one-year  under  age.  Two  per  cent  of  132,000,  or  the  number  of 
freshman  age,  is  2640.  There  would  be  2640  in  freshman  year  of  the  universal 
high  school  under  14  years  old.  The  net  result  of  oorreoting  for  retardation 
and  acceleration,  if  provision  is  not  made  for  pupils  over  IS-  years  old,  is 
70,000.  Instead  of  providing  a universal  high-sohool  plant  for  325,000  in 
1930,  we  will  provide  in  our  estimates  for  455*000* 


; . , 


- 


32 


Chapter  IV 


Buildings  needed 

We  may  now  calculate  the  number  of  high-sohool  buildings  needed  upon 
the  basis  of  the  455,000  pupils  to  be  provided. 

At  present  the  ratio  of  high-sohool  enrollment  to  the  number  of  high 
sohools  is  132  as  was  shown  on  page  16.  Assuming  that  a high  school  is  housed  in 
one  building,  we  may  then  divide  the  455 #000  pupils  to  be  provided  for  in  1930 
by  the  ratio  132  and  get  a quotient  of  3447.  The  universal  high-school  plant 
would  need  about  3450  high-school  buildings  of  the  average  capacity  of  the  present 
high-sohool  buildings  in  Illinois.  Of  course,  the  number  could  be  smaller  or 
greater  and  yet  have  the  same  total  oapacity.  It  is  necessary  to  estimate  the 
number  upon  the  present  size  in  order  to  use  our  information  concerning  costs 
of  construction,  maintenance,  etc. 

Teachers  needed 

The  other  element  which  constitutes  the  size  of  the  universal  high- 
school  plant  is  the  number  of  teachers  needed.  This  number  may  easily  be  cal- 
culated by  use  of  the  ratio  of  the  present  high-school  enrollment  to  the  number 
of  high-sohool  teachers  in  service.  This  ratio,  as  was  shown  on  page  16,  is  20. 
This  may  be  a very  low  ratio, but  since  we  are  not  dealing  with  the  needed  re- 
organizations necessary  to  make  feasible  the  universal  high-sohool,  we  shall 
calculate  the  number  of  teaohers  needed  by  using  the  ratio  20.  By  dividing  the 
455,000  by  20  we  will  obtain  a quotient  of  22,750.  The  universal  high-school 
plant  would  need  about  23,000  high  sohool  teaohers  in  service  in  1930. 


L 


' 


' 


- 

„ 


■ 


Inorease 


There  are  970  high-school  buildings  in  Illinois  at  present,  and  there 
will  be  needed  34-50  for  the  universal  high  sohool  in  1930,  with  an  average 
oapaoity  of  the  present  buildings,  or  an  inorease  of  2500  buildings. 

At  present  there  are  621#  high-school  teachers  in  service  and  there 
will  be  needed  23,000  teachers  to  meet  the  needs  of  the  universal  high-school 
plant.  This  would  necessitate  an  inorease  in  the  teaching  force  of  17,000 
during  the  next  decennium.  The  big  problem  of  the  high  sohool  is  to  provide 
an  adequate  number  of  trained  teaohers.  However,  teacher-training  is  another 
problem  and  we  shall  not  consider  it* 


' 


Table  VIII 

f 1) 

Growth,  in  Wealth  of  Illinois  ' 

1 

-34-* 

Year 

Estimated  true  wealth 

Increase  in  2 yr.  period 

Per  cent 

(Million  dollars) 

(Million  dollars) 

Increase 

1902 

1904 

11,330 

11,913 

583 

5.1 

1906 

12,396 

483 

4.0 

1908 

13,903 

1 , 507 

12.1 

1910 

1 4 , 520 

617 

4.4 

1912 

15,484 

964 

6.6 

1914 

16,210 

726 

4.7 

1916 

16,513 

303 

1.8 

1918 

17,331 

818 

4.9 

1920 

17,978 

647 

3.7 

1930( ? 

22,105 

825 

4.6 

(1)  Bureau  of  Education 

Bulletin  1920,  No.  11. 

Wealth 

Reports  of  State  Board  of  Equalization, 
of  Illinois 

The  financial  resources  of  any  industry  limit  its  oper- 

at  i on 

and  development,  and  equally  so  in  the  educational  industry. 

Especially  is  this  true  of  the  high  school,  and  for  this  reason,  we 

submit  a brief  study  of  the  wealth  of  the  state. 

To  compute  the  total  wealth  of  Illinois  in 

1920  and  to 

estimate  its  wealth  for  1930 

I used  the  following  method.  From  the 

annual  reports  of  the  State  Board  of  Equalization  I obtained  the 

total 

assessed  valuation  of  all  property  for  the  years  1900  to  1918 

-35-  . 


inclusive.  Had  the  law  been  uniformly  obeyed  in  the  matter  of 
evaluating  property  by  the  property  owners  of  the  state--  i.e.  eval- 
uated their  property  for  the  assessor  at  33  1/3$  of  its  real  cash 
value  --  the  problem  of  computing  the  wealth  of  the  state  would  have 
been  relatively  simple.  However,  this  was  not  the  case,  and  it 
became  necessary  to  derive  some  conversion  factor  with  which  the 
assessed  values  could  be  converted  into  real  values.  The  cue  for 
this  was  found  in  Bureau  of  Education  Bulletin  1920,  Ho.  11,  Table 
60,  page  153,  which  gives  the  estimated  true  value  of  all  property 
for  the  different  states  and  for  the  United  States. 

In  this  table  the  wealth  of  Illinois  for  1912  is  given 
as  $15,484,450,232,  while  the  assessed  value  of  all  property  in 
Illinois  for  the  same  year  was  only  $2,343,673,232  or  15.2$  of  the 
estimated  real  value. 

Using  this  ’percentage  ratio  as  a conversion  factor,  I 
changed  the  assessed  value  of  each  year  from  1900  to  1918  inclusive 
into  real  values,  and  using  these  values,  projected  the  data  to 
1930.  For  1920  the  real  wealth  of  Illinois  is  estimated  to  be  ap- 
proximately 18  billion  dollars  against  14|-  billion  in  1910,  and  in 
1930,  22  billion  dollars.  It  is  apparent  that  such  data  are 
little  more  than  a good  guess,  but  in  the  absence  of  more  reliable 
dataware  used  generally  in  all  prognostic  studies,  and  so  we  assume 
the  right  to  use  them  for  the  purpose  of  this  study. 

By  use  of  these  data,  we  hope  to  show  the  per  cent  of 
the  total  wealth  necessary  to  provide  the  material  plant  for  univer- 
salizing high-school  education;  the  per  capita  investment  based  on 
total  population,  and  other  relations  which  may  be  pertinent  to  this 
study. 


-36-. 


John  A.  H.  Keith  in  the  April  1921  number  of  the 
Journal  of  the  national  Education  Association,  submits  a table  on 
Estimated  Valuation  of  National  Wealth  for  the  several  states,  using 
the  same  source  material.  His  estimated  wealth  of  Illinois  for  1920 
is  $20,658,924,827  which  he  obtained  by  adding  the  increase  for  the 
8-year  period  1904-1912  to  the  estimate  of  1912  as  made  by  the 
Bureau  of  Census,  and  reported  in  Bureau  of  Education  Bulletin  1920, 
No.  11  referred  to  above.  This  would  indicate  that  my  estimate  for 
1920  is- very  conservative,  being  more  than  2 billion  dollars  less, 
and  if  the  same  method  as  used  by  Keith  were  applied  as  to  1930,  the 
estimated  wealth  would  be  more  than  27  billion  against  my  estimate 
of  22  billion.  This  comparison  lends  conservative  qualities  to  this 
table.  My  conviction,  however,  is  that  a median  estimate  would  be 
more  accurate. 


I 


-37- 


Table  IX 

Investment  and  Current  Cost  of  High  Schools  in  Illinois  in  1917 

per  Pupil  Enrolled!1) 


Investment 


Current  Cost 


Kind 


Building,  Site 
and  Equipment 


Maintenance 


Ope rati  on 


Instruct i on 


Total 

Current 

Cost 


City  High 
School . . • 


T own  ship 
High  School 


1278.08 

409.29 


$2.41 


5.22 


$2.21 


4.53 


$37.54 


53.28 


$42.26 


63.03 


Average 


$343.68 


$3.81 


$3.37 


£45.46 


$52.64 


(1)  Based  on  study  of  156  to  423  high  school  reports  by 
Lewis  W.  Smith,  1917. 

Kigh-School  Costs. 

The  purpose  of  this  table  is  to  show  the  permanent  and 
current  costs  of  high  school  education  per  pupil  enrolled  in  the 
high  schools  of  Illinois. 

Incidentally  this  table  shows  some  interesting  compari- 
sons of  costs  of  high  school  education  in  the  city  high  school  and 
the  township  high  school.  The  township  high  schools  in  every  case 
have  more  money  invested  in  buildings,  sites  and  equipment  than  the 
city  high  schools.  The  maintenance,  operation  and  instruction  costs 
are  also  greater  in  the  township  high  schools.  The  study  referred 
to  shows  that  the  township  high  schools  are  more  completely  equipped 
in  every  particular  than  the  city  high  schools,  except  one.  namely, 
the  library. 

This  larger  expenditure  both  in  investment  and  current 


-38-  . 


costs  on  the  part  of  the  township  high  schools,  is  the  direct  out- 
growth of  two  features  in  the  township  high  school  organization, 
which  characterizes  it  as  a unit  of  school  administration.  In  the 
first  place,  the  township  high  school  is  organized  to  cower  a 
wider  range  of  territory  than  the  ordinary  high  school  district, 
thus  providing  a wider  basis  of  taxation  and  allowing  a larger  accu- 
mulation of  funds.  The  greater  resources  thus  provided  enable  the 
school  authorities  to  invest  larger  sums  of  money  in  the  plant  and 
to  give  more  adequate  financial  support  to  maintenance,  operation 
and  instruction. 

In  the  second  place,  one  other  factor  which  may  have  a 
definite  bearing  to  produce  this  greater  expenditure  by  the  township 
high  schools  is  the  fact  that  generally  the  board  of  education  and 
the  principal  give  special  attention  to  this  one  unit  of  our  school 
system,  whereas  the  conventional  school  district  with  a system 
extending  from  the  elementary  grades  through  the  high  school,  has  a 
board  of  education  and  superint endent  whose  attention  is  diffused 
over  the  entire  system. 

This  larger  investment  and  current  cost  of  the  townshij 
over  the  city  high  school  are  possible  on  account  of  the  dual 
system  of  taxation,,  by  which  the  township  or  community  high  school 
may  levy  for  its  purpose,  as  much  as  is  levied  on  the  same  property 
for  elementary  school  purposes.  This  discriminates  against  the  city 
high  school  unless  it  is  operated  as  a community  or  township  Mgh 
school.  Efficiency  as  well  as  justice  demands  that  every  high  school 
whether  township,  community  or  city,  have  equal  powers  of  taxation, 
in  order  that  they  may  have  the  same  per  capita  support.  If  we 
consider  the  $343.68  the  per  capita  investment  in  high  school 


' 


. 


. 

' 


40 


cost.  By  referring  to  Table  IX  we  see  that  the  total  ourrent  cost  per  capita 
is  $52.64.  Upon  this  basis  the  annual  ourrent  cost  of  the  universal  high 
school  in  1930,  with  its  estimated  enrollment  of  455,000  pupils,  would  be  25 
million  dollars. 


Chapter  V 


41 


Summary . 

The  salient  faots  which  have  appeared,  in  the  preceding  discussion  are: 
that  970  high-school  buildings  valued  at  45  million  dollars,  now  house  12£,000 
pupils,  who  require  the  services  of  6200  teachers. 

But  in  1930  it  is  estimated  that  the  population  of  Illinois  will  be 
slightly  over  7 millions, and  of  these,  525,000  will  be  of  high-school  age. 
Furthermore,  70,000  of  the  525>0Q0  will  not  be  in  high  school  in  1930,  with 
the  normal  age  group, on  account  of  retardation  and  acceleration.  To  provide 
a universal  high-school  plant  for  the  455>000,  it  would  require  3450  high  -sohool 
buildings,  with  an  estimated  value  of  160  million  dollars,  or  7.3  mills  in  each 
dollar  of  the  true  wealth  in  1930.  The  current  cost  for  the  schools  designed 
to  care  for  the  entire  455 #000  pupils  would  be  about  25  million  dollars  per 
year  (on  the  basis  of  $52.64  per  pupil),  or  1.1  mills  in  each  dollar  of  the  true 
wealth  in  1930. 


UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS-URBANA 


3 0112  099085679 


